Morning terror in Jammu casts shadow on days ahead

The three militants, wearing Army uniforms, boarded a Jammu-bound Himachal Roadways bus at Vijaypur at around 5.30 am. When the bus reached Ratnuchak near the camp, they asked the driver to stop the vehicle and opened fire inside the bus, killing six passengers and the driver.

The militants then ran towards the main gate of the 196 Arti unit of the Tiger Division, killing the guard who was standing there with a grenade. Once inside the camp, the militants lobbed another grenade on the Army’s gun carrier vehicle, which caught fire. They opened fire inside the residential quarters, which houses around 160 families. Troops cordoned off the area, and the militants were killed after a four-hour-long gunbattle.

‘‘Even in their wildest dreams, the jawans wouldn’t have imagined that enemy bullets would someday take away the lives of their family members,’’ said Ashok Sharma, a local resident.

The militants were carrying AK rifles, explosives and grenades, some almond packets and Pakistan-made chocolates and were said to be in the 20-25 age bracket, said Maj Gen Mohan Pandey, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Tiger Division. They have been identified as Abu Zaffar, Abu Salaam and Abu Majid.

Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah squarely blamed Pakistan for the attack. ‘‘I hope that our Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh will this evening make it clear to the US government that terrorism cannot be tolerated anymore,’’ Abdullah told a joint news conference with Governor Girish Chandra Saxena after a review of security arrangements.

Saying he wanted peace with Pakistan, Abdullah said, ‘‘I am not a man who wants war. But, if Pakistan continues like this they will have to face the consequences.’’